Athletics

2016-17 Stories of the Year (No. 4): Volleyball serves up magical season

Jun 13, 2017

MEQUON, Wis. – The 2016-17 athletic year was another successful one for the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons. The Falcons won and contended for conference championships in many sports and put together an impressive list of great achievements. As in years past, the Department of Athletic Communications tries to sort through all the great moments and give you, the fans, the top stories from the past year.

The list of stories was compiled by the Department of Athletic Communications and, like all lists, is subject to debate. The top stories will be revealed over the next six weeks, with a story being released on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The top story will be released on June 22.

No. 4: Volleyball serves up magical season

It wasn’t that long ago – the 2014 season to be exact – that the Falcons accumulated 24 victories to set a program record. It was a year in which the program was overjoyed with their success and was wondering if things could get any better.

Well, they did.

Fast forward to 2016 and many goals were checked off the list, including:

- NACC regular season title (undefeated to be exact)
- NACC Tournament title (as the No. 1 seed for an added bonus)
- first trip to the NCAA Tournament

Just for the cherry on top, they won 23 matches and of those 17 ended in a sweep.

Much of the season was dominated by defense and the Falcons ended the season ranked 12th nationally with a .100 opponent hitting percentage, to go along with a NACC-leading 2.09 blocks per set. The offense excelled as well, averaging 12.05 kills per set, which was the third best in a season in program history.

Outside hitter Megan Mayer (Downers Grove, Ill.) was tabbed as the NACC Freshman of the Year and head coach Janelle Katz took home NACC Coach of the Year honors. In all, six players received NACC postseason honors during a season to remember.